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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Call me a rebel, but for the Shabbat lunch I recently hosted I wanted to do something different instead of the usual challah. Pizza stone in hand, I decided on whole wheat pitas. Pitas are something new that I've never really tried and I've been wanting to try them now for a while. I know that you can get pitas on the cheap here in Israel, but nothing takes the place of making them homemade and getting a kick out of seeing the breads balloon. Oh yea, it works. This recipe comes from Maggie Glezer's A Blessing of Bread. I haven't mentioned her in a while but I haven't forgotten her, either so fear not! I made these pitas using all whole wheat flour and the dough kneaded, rolled and handled like a dream. I let the dough retard overnight in the fridge and then let it rise for an hour the next day at room temp. These are best fresh out of the oven but freeze for optimal storage.

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl.Whisk to combine.Add the oil and water. This is the dough using the original amount of water called for- 2 1/3 cups- but to account for the whole wheat flour absorption, you can see that far more is necessary. That's why I say add until a workable dough is formed.

This is a shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead until the dough becomes smooth and silky but is still a bit tacky.Place in a greased bowl and refrigerate overnight.Here is the risen dough.Preheat your baking stone to the highest temperature. Turn the dough out,and using a bench scraper, portion the dough into pieces. Round the dough pieces and allow them to rest.

One at a time, roll out the pitas. Keep the remaining dough covered until you're ready to work with them. Place each dough piece on the baking stone. Theyre beginning to rise! And balloon! They really balloon. Cook each pita about 3-4 minutes or until fully ballooned. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Here is my stack of deformed pitas. I need to learn how to roll a circle. You think it'd be simple, no? Enjoy with some hummus and Israeli salad or falafel if you like. Bitay'avon!